Machado, after whirlwind 48 hours, is confident he'll recover quickly

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado talked with the media about the status of his injured knee. (Kevin Richardson/Baltimore Sun video)

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado talked with the media about the status of his injured knee. (Kevin Richardson/Baltimore Sun video)

Eduardo A. Encina, The Baltimore Sun

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, preparing to speak for the first time since his season ended because of a left knee injury, hobbled into a pregame news conference Wednesday evening on crutches.

The 21-year-old then spoke about a whirlwind 48 hours that began with him landing awkwardly on the first base bag and crumbling to the ground in pain on Monday in the Tropicana Field infield.

He was rolled off the field on a stretcher fearing the worst, then found out the good news Tuesday: the injury wasn't as devastating as feared.

"When it first happened, it was a terrifying moment for myself, all the fans and my teammates," Machado said. "Obviously, it wasn't fun. … My first initial thought was that I'm out for the season. There goes our chances of me trying to help the team trying to make the postseason. … Then [I thought] after, something happened to my knee. I really didn't know what it was at the moment. It wasn't giving any thought if it was my ACL, or whatever it was."

On Tuesday, Machado found out that all of his major ligaments were fine, and he was diagnosed with a tear in a smaller ligament, the medial patellofemoral ligament, by team orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens. With a conservative recovery approach, the Orioles believe Machado could be back to light running in six to eight weeks.

Machado said he will receive a second opinion on Monday, but that he was was confident in the doctor's diagnosis, especially since Wilckens treated Machado when he had a similar patella injury in the minor leagues while playing with low Class-A Delmarva.

"It's kind of the same thing a little bit," Machado said, comparing the injuries. "Obviously, this is a little more painful, especially at this stage of the year. That just made it just worse."

The Orioles believe Machado can avoid surgery — they're hoping that rest, treatment and rehab will do the trick — but they won't know for sure until he is re-evaluated in four weeks.

"Obviously it's out there," Machado said of the possibility of surgery. "For now, it's not in the back of my mind. I'm only 21 years old. I'm so young, my ligaments are going to recover faster than a 30-year-old. That's the first step, just steady rehab and let it strengthen on its own like it has before. … Hopefully it keeps getting stronger."

The highlight of Tuesday's 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Blue Jays — the Orioles' sixth straight defeat — was when Machado received a standing ovation from the Camden Yards crowd when he was shown in the Orioles dugout on the ballpark video board.

For Machado, who has been through a series of ups and downs over the past two days, the reaction was uplifting.

"It's something that I got goose bumps with it," he said. "I've got to thank all those fans out there. They've supported me throughout the whole year and these last couple days. I just want to give them thanks for being there."